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In Reply to: I apolgize for the tone of my post posted by Observer on February 23, 2006 at 17:56:18:
No apology necessary, I can get quite pesky too when I’m trying to make a point. If you backtrack you’ll find that I stated that the FAF contributed heavily toward her medical bills, not that they paid all bills. Again, that’s just an undisputed fact. They did. That is what this fund is set up for. It’s kind of like a Family insurance program. It was already installed when I left eight years ago. I don’t know when and where Peter’s wife died, but from what I understand the FAF will kick in in desperate cases, depending on resources available at the time of the call.
Gee, I hope I’m not coming across here as a Family apologist, I’m simply trying to be objective and stick to the facts. The Family has already years and years ago taken on a totally different stance from what was suggested in Pill and Pilgrimage. During the days of persecution and the inception of the charter back in the early nineties they made it explicitly clear that the decision of whether to solicit medical help/treatment, etc., or not, rests with the individuals and not with any of their leaders or “shepherds”. This is also anchored in their charter. They pretty much stuck to that. They were scared to death of law suits, consequences and blame in case someone would die in case of neglect. If you follow their publications and “prayer lists”, which I sometimes have access to, you’ll find frequent mention of cases like “pray for so-and-so who has cancer and is receiving chemo, for the Lord to heal her, etc.” There are also others, where you can read “please pray for so-and-so who cancer and has decided to take a stand of faith instead of drugs.” Again, this softer attitude was already firmly in place in 1998 when I left. I‘m sure others who left around the same time can confirm this for you.
Hope that helps.
OWK
